


Disenchanted Lullaby

by MsWolffe



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Celtic Mythology & Folklore, Characters with multiple vices, F/M, Les Misérables References, Post-Movie(s), music references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-04 22:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1796002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsWolffe/pseuds/MsWolffe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She swore she had left all of that world behind- along with the smoking, the fishnet stocking, and the vandalism- and now they wanted to pull her into it again? Two words for bad timing: Jackson Frost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stories and Stereotypes

**Chapter I:**

**Stories and Stereotypes**

****

 

 **"** _Baby you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair makes me overwhelmed, but when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell! You don't know-oh-oh...!"_

Natalie grumbled under her breath and pulled out a hand from under the- tangled- sheets to turn off the offensive sound.

"Damned be Harry Styles and the others whose names I never quite knew." She muttered, a heavy Scottish accent filling her voice. Finally, she managed to do a herculean effort and hit the snooze button of her radio slash clock thing. It was  _way_  too early in the morning, and awaking to One Direction bubbly happy rhythm wasn't the best way to start her day.

She got up of her bed, and looked at herself in the tall mirror of her messy bedroom, looking in annoyance at her untidy short black hair, and the zombie expression profusely intensified by the dark circles under her eyes.

"I swear tis the last time I ever stay up that late in between school days..."

She walked into the bathroom and threw aside the- too big- sweatshirt she normally used to sleep, her underwear, and stepped into the shower. A nice, warm shower to antagonise the chilly wind of an early cold October would do nicely before she had to face the dreaded reality of St. James Music College of Burgess- and then probably her job with the spoiled kids she didn't even wanted to say 'hi' to.

Natalie sighed, defeated, turned off the water and enveloped herself in a fluffy purple towel. Then she grabbed the hairdryer and started the oh-so-difficult task of taming her short mane. Finally, after some time, she was able to turn the tangly black mess into her usual straight short bob haircut, even with the thick fringe completely straight. With a satisfied nod, she entered her bedroom once again and put on some clothes, nothing too fancy, just washed up jeans, black boots, and a button up shirt.

When she managed to find her keys- it was amazing how much they got lost inside her tiny apartment, but then again, the place was usually stacked up with papers- mostly music sheets- books- fantasy novels and some children fairytales, a book or two on music theory, and a some articles regarding medicine- clothes, a handful of instruments- Natalie owned a violin, an old, worn out guitar, a monstrous contrabass, two flutes, a trumpet, and she had managed to-  _somehow_ \- make the mighty piano fit on a corner of the small space.

She finally grabbed her violin case and long trench coat and got out of her apartment, descending the steps of her small building's staircase one by one- the elevator was broken,  _again_ \- and smiled when she saw the middle aged woman who played the part of her landlord on the main hall.

"Mornin' Mrs. Callahan." The girl said with a nod of her head.

"Good morning dear, are you going to class?"

"Aye, I can't let my uncle's money go to waste."

The woman smiled at her, she had taken a certain liking to the foreigner girl who always seemed so taciturn and ironic, she knew she was a good girl deep down; but life had managed to kick her hard enough to tough her up.

"Natalie?" Mrs. Callahan asked before the girl could turn to head towards the door "Your uncle... he's rich, isn't he?"

She nodded; the woman knew this already, why was she asking?

"Then why does he only pay for your studies?"

"Not only for those. He bought me all my instruments, and my car, back home. But 'ere, in the States? Here I'm s'pposed to do somethin' with my own skills or somethin' like that. That's what he said, at least..."

Even if that meant being stuck in a crappy apartment and struggling to make ends meet. Not that she was going to say that out loud to her landlord- or lady, was it?

The older woman just nodded her head in dismissal, and Natalie walked out of the building, trembling slightly when the cold wind surprised her. Damn, she should have brought a scarf with her.

 _Damn_.

Oh well, no use in crying for spilled milk, she dug in her pocket for her car keys, and neared her beloved Morris Mini- she still remembered how she almost cried when her uncle got her the car for her seventeenth birthday- and prepared herself for the thirty-minute ride all the way to her College.

When she was nearing the campus, the light that announced that the fuel was  _very_  low turned on.

"I should have gotten into Med School" She said, while parking in her usual spot. "Or any career that provides any sort of secure income, actually. But nay, 'follow yer passion!' they said. What good is it if I'm not elected to perform into any of those fancy orchestras?" She blinked when she saw that some other students where giving her strange looks. "And I should really consider stop talkin' to myself."

* * *

 

"Miss Nightingale?"

"Aye, professor Mills?"

"Could you  _please_  just shut up and stop arguing? _I'm_  the teacher here."

"Aye, sir, but I'm just saying that using that opera might not be the best way for us to learn-"

"Miss Nightingale?"

"...Aye...?"

"Out of my class. Now."

"...I'm goin', sir..."

In an unexpected-  _not really-_  turn of events, she found herself dismissed from class forty minutes earlier than what should have been. And she didn't have to get to work until an hour and a half later. She smiled to herself, and walked up to one of the empty classrooms that were used often to practice; she had had a melody stuck on her head by  _three_  days now, and she needed to get it out of her system or she would explode.

 _Kaboom_.

So she entered the third room on the right at the end of the hallway of the second floor, and sprinted towards the elegant shiny black piano. She lifted the lid that covered the keys, and softly caressed them with her pale fingers...

And then a cough made her turn around and realise that no, the room hadn't been empty; just really dark, before she entered.

A tall guy with a messy mop of wavy black hair was by the window, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Nightingale" He saluted.

"Pilgrim" She replied.

Matthew Alexander Pilgrim was what one would call a genius. He was in his senior year, a prodigy of music; he could make amazing calculations in mere seconds, and had an amazing understanding of quantum physics. Not that Natalie actually knew  _why_  a musician as him would  _want_  to have an amazing understanding of quantum physics anyway...

He was tall and lanky, with elegant hands and stubble, product of not caring about his public image at all.

"I thought ye were not s'pposed to smoke inside the building." Natalie taunted him.

"And  _I_  thought  _I_  had settled the record of the freshman getting kicked more times out of class when I first started."

"Nice one, but ye 'ave to  _go_  to class in order to get kicked out of it. The only reason ye didnee get expelled it's the fact that ye are a genius, and the school wouldn't want to lose someone like ye."

"True enough."

Matthew was grumpy and silent and hated people, and while Natalie wouldn't consider them as  _friends_ , they had managed to somehow reach an understanding- or, at least, could withstand each other presence for a long time without screaming like enraged banshees.

* * *

 

Natalie looked at her car,  _offended_.

Apparently, snow could come as early as late October. Apparently, it could snow quite  _a lot_  in five hours.

Well, low in fuel and with the engine so cold, she might as well take a bus to work instead of ending stuck somewhere in the middle of the road. She could always come back for her car the next day anyway.

"Hey! Nightingale!"

Natalie turned around and saw one of her classmates waving at her, it was a boy- or young man better said, at the age of eighteen- with sandy hair and dark blue eyes; immediately she remembered all of the information she had about him.

Joel Knight played the trumpet- and the harmonica, judging by some times she saw him on the hallway- he was an honest, nice, polite man... though maybe not the brightest bulb around. He could put up with her  _charming_  sarcasm and dry wit without going crazy, so he was okay in her books.

Joel walked up to her, and looked at the state of her car.

"Need a ride?"

"Oh, blessed be the Lord who bestowed upon me the miracle of a saviour!" She exclaimed, with a dramatic sigh.

"...What?"

"Nothin'. I mean, thank ye, I owe ye, man."

The boy guided her to his truck, and Natalie climbed to the passenger's seat. The ride was nice, they both were chatting of simple menial things.

"...So, you're from England, right?" He said, more a statement than an actual question.

Natalie looked at him with her coal black eyes from behind her thick fringe.

"What?" She asked, unbelieving.

"Yeah, I mean, you have that weird accent, don't you? And well, your car, it has the English flag painted on the roof..."

Indeed he wasn't the brightest bulb around.

"Joel. That's the flag of the United Kingdom."

He kept silence, apparently not seeing any relevance into what she said.

"...The United Kingdom is formed by  _more_  countries than  _just_  England..." She spoke slowly, so the information could pass through his- apparently- thick skull.

"And the Scottish accent sounds  _a lot_  different than the English one..." She said, resisting the urge to facepalm.

"So... you're Scottish then?" He asked; his brow in a knot.

Ugh. Must. Not. Slap. Him.

"Yes." She said with gritted teeth. "Yes Joel, I'm from Scotland."

"But then... shouldn't you be dressed up in some sort of vibrant green, drink a lot, and wear clovers everywhere...?"

That was it. She facepalmed.

"Ye're thinkin' of Ireland. And that's a lousy stereotype."

* * *

 

" _Please_ , Joshua, focus on what I'm tryin' to teach ye." She rubbed her temples, sitting on the bench in front of the piano, next to the eight year old.

"But this is  _boring_  Mrs. Nightingale!"

 _Mrs.?_ Woah okay hold on there.

"I am not that old! I'll be turning nineteen in February!"

"Whatever, my point issssss" He strained the 's' in the way only a child knows how to. "That this is  _boring_! I don't want to practice these  _dumb_  exercises! I want to play the cool stuff people in television do! Like that Russian man who was there the other day!"

"Oh, ye mean, like this?" She asked.

Natalie suddenly focused, and exhaled slowly. Carefully she put her fingers on place, and out of the blue, she started playing a really fast tune, with highs and lows and crescendos and twists and turns that made Joshua feel out of breath only by listening. As abrupt as it started, it also ended.

"Yeah, like that!"

"Good. Then ye practice the exercises, can't run b'fore ye walk, ye know?"

She glanced at the clock.

"Okay, the lesson ended. I'll see ye next Tuesday, then?"

" _Fine_ " The boy answered, defeated.

Each class was the same; the little boy  _demanding_  that she teach him something  _'cool_ ', and Natalie trying to explain that she couldn't do so if he didn't know the basics. Which he didn't, since he refused to practice.

 _Children_.

Natalie bid her goodbye to both the boy and his parents, and adjusted her trench coat before going outside, smiling with the prospect of having finished all her lessons for the day, and now having free time to perhaps read some and burrow herself on her bed- she didn't actually tidied it up on the morning, did she? - When her phone started to ring.

She sighed for the tenth time that day, and briefly considered answering with  _'Morgue~'_ , just for the sake of trolling whoever was calling her, but stopped when she saw the familiar number.

"'Ello?" She said.

"Natalie, dear, I know this is sudden, but I have to go out of town today and won't be here until tomorrow afternoon, I already called the other babysitter but she's busy! Could you  _please_  look after Sophie and Jamie tonight?"

She sounded desperate, and somehow, somewhere, deep in her heart, behind those empty coffee boxes and Stephen Amell posters, Natalie felt a pang of mercy.

"Sure Mrs. Bennett, I'll be there in an hour."

Goodbye to her lazy, quiet night.

* * *

 

"Thank you for coming Natalie! I'm really sorry to have asked you at the last minute! The dinner is in the oven, you just have to heat it up, and don't let Jamie trick you; he still  _can't_  eat as much sugar as he says. Once again, sorry for calling you so late!"

She just waved a hand in dismissal.

"Don't worry Mrs. Bennet, it's nothin'. Ye live two blocks away from my buildin', and yer kids are probably the only ones that do not make me want to rip my hair out."

The woman laughed.

"You're terrible, Natalie!"

"'M not! I swear ye should see some of the kids I give piano lessons sometime! Oh, and the ones who want to learn guitar are worse; they all want to instantly become a rockstar or somethin'. Jamie makes amazin' conversations, and wee Sophie is incredibly cute."

The mother of said children just chuckled and rushed outside, she was running late, and she knew her children were in good hands.

Natalie started climbing the stairs to go into the childrens' room, with her hands in the pocket of her jeans.

"Why, ain't ye goin' to say 'ello to me, ye little Kelpies?"

Instantly after the words escaped her mouth, two small figures practically tackled her, making her stagger to keep her balance- losing it would have resulted into the three of them falling all the way down the stairs.

"Natalie!" Jamie said, bubbling with glee. "You're here! It's been a long time since you came!"

She chuckled, and ruffled his hair.

"Aye indeed, I've been busy with college... and work... and being broke and miserable, most of my time..." She said the last part with a sigh, but recovered soon. "But why are ye so happy? I though the other nanny was nice."

Jamie grimaced.

"She's nice, but so  _boring_. She's always on the phone, and never tells us stories like you!"

"No stories..." The sad little voice of Sophie broke a little bit of Natalie's heart.

"What's a Kelpie, anyway?" Jamie suddenly asked her.

"What?"

"A Kelpie! You called us Kelpies!"

"Oh, that's a legend, ye know. A black magical horse that stands around lakes and rivers and convinces humans to ride 'im; but then, he jumps into the water and drags its rider to the bottom... and well, I've heard that sometimes it devours him... except maybe the heart... or the liver..." She noticed Sophie's frightened stare, and Jamie's confused expression. "I'll shut up know. Actually, I don't know why I even said that on the first place."

"You're weird..." Jamie told her.

"So, ye don't want me to look after ye when yer mom is away anymore?"

"No! I mean yeah! I mean... I mean... You're awesome..."

"Awesome!" Sophie chirped, making the older girl laugh.

* * *

 

Soon enough Natalie heated up the dinner, and almost immediately afterwards Sophie started to yawn. She took her in her arms and tucked her into her bed before reading her Cinderella- with some alterations that were closer to the Disney version of the tale, since the original had some gruesome parts that she didn't consider apt for children of Sophie's age.

Such as, you know, the step-sisters chopping out their heel or big toe in order to make the glass slipper fit them...

After that, she went into Jamie's room and noticed the boy was already in his bed, the hound they kept as a pet at his feet, snoring lightly.

"So, what do ye been up to recently?" She asked him.

"Nothing much, school and stuff like that... do you know anything about Bigfoot?" He suddenly asked.

"Nay, sorry boy. That evades my vast knowledge." She said with a grimace.

"Oh... Nevermind." He gazed outside the window, as if  _something_  had caught his eye. "Hey Natalie?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did I ever tell you about my friend Jack?" He looked at her with a glint in his eyes.

"Not really; who's this Jack kid ye talk 'bout?"

"Well, he's really cool, and he's really fun too. But he's not a kid; he's older than you, actually."

Oh? So he had a cool friend who was older than her and really fun; awesome. Then why didn't they ask him to come over and watch the kids and leave her alone to her quiet, tranquil, lazy night?

Nevermind. At least she liked these children.

"And what makes him so cool and fun, may I ask?"

"He can make  _perfect_  snowballs, and he's awesome at snow fights! And it's just impossible to avoid having fun when he's around! You know, you should meet him."

"Why?"

"You'd like him, and you could use a  _little_  fun..."

"Hey! I do 'ave fun, young sir!"

"But you always seem so... stressed..."

"That's because I  _am_  stressed, and a lot of things annoy me. S'mtimes I swear people just do it on purpose, like today, I  _innocently_ argued with my professor and he- Ah, but ye don't care 'bout silly facts of my miserable existence, do ye?"

"I still think you should meet Jack."

"Aye, fine, maybe I will some day... Now, are ye goin' to keep babbling 'bout this more-awesome-than-me friend of yers, or do ye want a story?"

Jamie shut up instantly, after his eyes flickered a brief second to steal a glance at the window behind her. Natalie seemed to be unaware of the gesture, as she was unaware of a winter spirit outside the same window, with a cocky grin and a mischievous glint in his silvery eyes.

"What sort of story do ye want?"

"I don't know; something I haven't heard of before... You didn't bring any book with you this time?"

"Nay, sorry kid. I haven't been at home yet, I even still 'ave my violin downstairs."

"What about your favourite story then?"

Natalie pondered the thought, well, she guessed that telling him about Frodo and the rest of the fellowship could be too long for a night; the same went for Bilbo and Thorin Oakenshield's company. The Little Prince was cute, but perhaps too metaphorical for Jamie to grasp the real meaning... then she thought about telling him some legend from her homeland, but she already knew that Jamie was familiar with the Loch Ness monster, and somehow, telling him about Kelpies who dragged people to lakes and devoured them, wailing Banshees, Black dogs who announced death, and the likes of so didn't seem the wiser thing to do.

Natalie blinked when she realised the amount of myths about death and darkness she knew from back home.

Then she thought about it... it was a rare myth, she didn't know its origins exactly, but it was one of her favourites. Very few children knew about it, it was a piece of knowledge more common to find in fancy bookcases of wise scholars, who treasured the tale by its nicely written words and old date.

"I'm going to tell ye one of my favourites, aye? My mother first told it to me when I was 'bout four; 'ave ye ever heard of Peregrin D'or?"

"No, who's him?"

"Well he's a man.  _Was_  a man, when he was alive. I think that he lived around Middle Ages, maybe? Hmmm now that I think about it, it's probably a legend that was born with the death of Richard I of England, also known as the Lionheart, he was a king who... Nevermind, I'm rambling. Back to the actual story." She closed her eyes and coughed to set a theatrical voice. "Peregrin D'or is a spirit, an' an old one at that. He's brave and strong and silent and tough, and he wears golden clothes, and his hair and eyes are golden, and his skin glisten with golden too... Peregrin looks like a man, but has the regal authority of a lion, and he knows how to roar like one. He's the spirit that holds courage, he's the one that calms the racing hearts at nights from both children and adults alike; but he's a loner. He doesn't like to be seen or heard, he doesn't like the company of other souls- unless he makes a very special exception. You can find him at dawn or dusk, when the sun paints the land in golds and yellows and oranges, he'll be standing on top of a hill with his arms crossed, and a serious look, like some ancient war leader readying himself for battle." She noticed Jamie's eyes started to close. "And at those times when ye're afraid, and suddenly feel like yer heart starts to grow and a nice warm feeling makes all the fear go away... that's because him is roaring at ye, he's ordering ye to be brave. He likes to order people around, I've heard."

She stood up and turned off the light, about to exit the boy's room.

"Natalie?" He called after her with a sleepy voice.

"What is it?"

"Is that story true?"

She smiled.

"As true as ye want it to be..."


	2. Curses and Caresses

**Chapter II**

**Curses and Caresses**

 

Natalie woke up with a start, and a pain on the neck. A shame, she had been dreaming quite the pleasant dream, something that had to do with bunnies that played the saxophone and had cute little hats and cute little sunglasses that added a certain  _je-ne-sais-quoi_  to the overall picture. The black haired girl looked at the clock in the wall, and after having a mini- heart attack because it was nine in the morning already and she had fallen asleep and now she was going to be late for her classes and the professors would probably think that she was following Matthew's path- with the exception that even if she was talented at various instruments, she was  _no genius whatsoever_ \- until she reminded herself that it was Saturday.

Good. Saturdays were good days.

She stretched and tried to ease the knots at her neck; well, it had been her own damn fault for falling asleep into the Bennett's couch instead of taking over the guest room- but hey, there had been an ongoing marathon of Bones, and she had wanted to catch up with whatever relationship Booth and Brennan had at the time, since, well, she had no cable at her apartment.

She remembered that she had woken up in quite an abrupt way, and searched for the source of the noise. Her eyes soon enough found the kitchen, and she entered the room, an unasked question on her lips.

"Jamie? Sophie? What are ye doin'?" She asked from the doorframe, upon seeing the kids making a big mess out of... everything.

Apparently, the boy had been  _very_  startled when he heard the grown girl's voice, because he dropped a bag of flour that he had been carrying; said bag  _exploded_ when it came in collision with the floor, and the whole room was soon enough covered in the white powder.

Natalie sighed. She guessed she was going to be the one that was going to have to clean all the mess.

"I'll ask again, and please, do  _not_  drop anythin' now. What. Are. Ye. Doin'." Though to be honest she didn't intoned the question properly.

"Pancakes...?" Answered a covered-in-flour Jamie.

"Pancakes!" Apparently, nothing could bring down the joyous spirit of the little blonde girl.

"Pancakes." Natalie deadpanned. "Pancakes." She repeated like a mantra, trying to convince herself.

Oh dear Lord.

"Yeah, well, we were  _trying_  to, since you were asleep and we didn't wanted to bother you or anything, but then Sophie dropped the eggs, and I turned around so fast the butter slid out of my grasp, and... well...yeah. Are you mad?"

"I... nay." Another sigh. "I'm not mad. Just, the next time ye want pancakes, just ask me, aye? Even if I'm asleep, really. It'll be fine. Now both of ye go get cleaned up, I'll fix this mess and... And I'll make some pancakes..."

Sophie jumped up and down with glee, and Jamie smiled brightly.

"I didn't know you cooked!" He told her.

"I can make edible enough food." Natalie simply shrugged. "Now  _shoo_ , out of here both of ye."

The kids rushed upstairs to wash up and get changed, while Natalie busied herself with the task at hand. Meaning: try to make the kitchen appear as if a nuclear bomb had  _not_  just exploded there. So she cleaned and swiped and dusted off and threw away the broken eggs that lay forgotten on the floor- not before almost breaking her neck by slipping with some butter, mind you- until everything looked presentable once again.

And then she started to make some pancakes.

She heard a laugh that was coming from some undefined point not so close to her, but shrugged it off as the stress playing with her head. Honestly, almost ten in the morning and she was  _already_  stressed out? Not good, Natalie, not good at all.

She heard the laugh again- and it was quite magical, carefree, a beautiful laughter to hear- instead of her un-ladylike loud high-pitched barks of laughter- but before she could actually give the faery sound some thought, the children entered the kitchen once again; this time cleaned up, and looked at her expectantly.

"Almost done, ye can go sit at the table already." She commanded.

Soon enough, she walked towards the table with a rather big stack of pancakes in a plate.

* * *

 

"So the girl who was at your house the other night..." Jack Frost asked his first believer, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah?"

"You weren't serious about getting her to meet me, were you?" He asked, grabbing some snow from the ground, shaping it into a perfect ball, and hitting a random boy on his head. Soon enough a complete snow fight had started on the opposite street.

Jack grinned to himself.

"Of course I was." Jamie said with all the seriousness a child could conjure up.

"Why?"

"You were listening already, she  _needs_  more fun. Not that she's not  _funny_ , but she's always so... stressed and complaining about her life and stuff. Plus, I think you'd be good friends." He finished with a huge smile.

Jack sighed, he wasn't sure... it was most probable that even if she had looked out of the window that day, she still wouldn't have seen him; why would she? She was a grown girl, she studied in college, and worked- a lot, if he trusted Jamie word, which he in fact did- chances were that she wouldn't see the winter spirit, the Guardian of Fun, not now, nor ever.

Jamie somehow guessed what was passing through his mind, and he chirped in:

"Trust me, I'm one hundred per cent sure she'll be able to see you!"

"How can you be so sure, huh?"

"Well, she's not like the rest of the grown-ups. She doesn't treat me as just a kid, you know? She's got lots of books on legends and stories, and even once I asked her if she actually believed those things, and you know what she said?" Jamie didn't even wait for Jack to put his question into syllables. "She told me 'I believe in everything believable. For example, there  _might_  be fairies around us right now, and we might just not be seeing them. Actually, I believe that a lot of things  _might_ exist; I believe in possibilities'! Though it sounded more dramatic with her accent."

Jack chuckled. He still wasn't convinced, what if he got all hoped up and then they discovered that  _no_ , she wasn't able to see him?

Well, yeah, so he had more believers now that Pitch had been defeated, but still...

That would be a harsh blow.

Jack loved children, after all, what could be expected from one of the spirits supposed to protect them? But he had been alone for three-hundred and eighteen years; sometimes he still longed for some human touch, a simple conversation with someone who was his age.

...Biologically speaking, of course, since no human could ever be three-hundred and eighteen years old, of course.

After a couple of hours, Jamie had to return home, and Jack resumed to his flying around causing mischief and laughing at anything laughable. It had been a good day indeed, carefree, full of joy, and perhaps even  _maybe_  some prank or two.

But hey, it was in his nature being like that, who could blame him, after all?

He lazily floated carried by the wind- his first friend- until he got to the forest in which his life as Jack Frost had started. He had been planning on hang around  _his_ lake for a while- at least he considered it as 'his'- until he'd found something better to do with his time, but he stopped a safe distance from his goal when he discovered that there was somebody else already in the lake. He perched himself on a high branch and looked down, squinting his eyes.

Wasn't that girl Jamie's friend? Yes, yes she was.

And she was pacing left and right, left and right, left and right... Jack shook his head to avoid getting caught in the enthralling repetition of her movements. She surely seemed distressed about something, but what could that be?

He eyed her as the girl ran a hand through her short hair, and sighed. Then she faced the sky and let a war-like cry escape from her throat.

Jack flinched.

"Oh just  _fuck it_! Everyone can suck it for everythin' that I know!"

Okay so maybe she wasn't the best mannered girl around.

"Really?! I'm probably one of the only ones that's actually  _interested_  in the  _fucking_  career, and those, those...  _sonsabitches_ still keep on trying to make me go _fucking_  crazy!" She continued her rant.

Okay scratch that, she had no idea whatsoever of what manners were.

"I delivered  _every single fuckin' assignment_! And what do they say? Do they encourage me to keep on interested; do they want me to blossom into an amazin' musician or somethin'? NAY! 'That's not quite what I asked ye to do', 'Ye completely missed the point of what I asked, it was s'pposed to taught ye how to work on _one_  instrument, ye didnee have to write a  _full symphony,_  I don't care that ye stayed up the whole night!', 'I was expectin' somethin' happier', 'I was expectin' somethin' more melancholic'! And when I try to defend my work, they kick me out of the class! I swear that at this rate I'm about to be like Matthew, except he's a genius and has money, and I'm a fool that's broke! Oh, an' speakin' of that, my rent is late, again!"

She threw herself on the snow, apparently not bothered at all by the cold.

"I hate my life." She finally ended.

Jack was perplexed. Well... that had been... ahem,  _intense_. He hadn't been expecting that, at all. Jamie had been right, she  _could_  use some fun. He was actually scooping up some snow in his hand, with a lopsided grin on his lips, when she started talking again. Out of curiosity, he let the snow fall and listened.

"At least it's winter" She muttered. "I really like winter. And snow. They're nice."

She noticed some movement near her and stood up- not bothering to clean the snow from her leather jacket- trying to see what was there. Jack followed the direction of her gaze, and discovered a white, small bunny looking curiously at her.

"Oh" She suddenly said. "'M sorry ye had to hear that." Was she really talking to the rabbit?

Jack chuckled under his breath.

"I'd say that I'm not usually like that, but I'd be lyin'. What's yer name?"

The small fluffy animal cocked his head to the side, and sniffed the air.

"A silent one, are ye? That's okay, don't worry."

The bunny took a few jumps closer to the girl, apparently unafraid of the human.

Natalie suddenly seemed to remember something, and she searched for  _something_  on the floor. Jack carefully looked at her... on the snow-covered ground, two items were laying there: a leather satchel with a lot of music sheets trying to escape from its inside, and a black... violin case? So she was a violinist, then? In any case, she grabbed the satchel and looked for something inside, grumbling about being 'so damn messy' or something like that. Finally, she took out a cookie, and held it while she kneeled on the ground, offering it to the animal as a little token of friendship- or something fancy and poetic like that.

The bunny sniffed the cookie, and with a few short jumps, he took it from the girl's hand and nibbled on it.

"'M glad ye like it. I absolutely  _adore_  fluffy bunnies, ye now? They're like, the cutest thing ever." She petted him on the head. "Oh my God, ye're  _the cutest thing alive_. I've always wanted a bunny, but goin' from foster home to foster home made it impossible. And when I settled, my uncle was never too fond of animals, so yeah..."

Foster homes...?

The little furry thing rubbed his head against her hand.

"Heh. I guess I should give ye a name, shouldn't I? Well, ye're a rabbit, and today I'm lackin' imagination, so I'll just call ye 'rabbit'. But in French, since whatever ye say in French it's a lot fancier, don't ye think?" She hummed. "What was the word...? Ah, aye, I remember. Lapin, that's what I'm goin' to call ye. Lapin."

And just like that, Jack watched her made a new friend. Well, if anyone could befriend a bunny that fast, it surely would be this weird Scottish girl with a lack of manners and no regard for the standard social code. He smiled.

"So, Lapin, want to hear some music? Snow inspires me, ye know? Good thing we're in winter."

She took a rather beautiful violin from her case, and studied it. She tested the strings, one by one, trying to see if it was tuned properly- and apparently, it was, since she smiled faintly. Then she simply looked at it for a while, observing it,  _admiring_  it. She caressed it as softly as if it was a living creature, which such a devotion that moved Jack's heart.

Natalie was a very good musician. She could play amazing piano toccatas; with a guitar, she'd make beautiful ballads, she was a decent jazzist if given a trumpet, deep and grave rhapsodies were born from her serious contrabass, and even she was able to take you to the Middle Ages with a simple flute.

She was born to play music- even if she could never dream of reaching Matthew's level, but then again, she didn't even consider her as human half the time.

But her violin...

Her violin was her tangible soul.

It was the way she channelled everything she needed to say, her thoughts, her emotions, all the misery and occasional happiness, the annoyance and grief and melancholy and hope.

And she started playing.

It was fast, furious, it was a ship sinking in a storm while the thunders roared and the sea unleashed its power, it was the deep rumbling of a lion's roar in all its might, it was the wind blowing wildly on a tornado.

It was angry and intense and powerful and exhausting.

And Jack Frost found himself with his mouth open, heart racing, and an inexplicable urge to cry as a baby, listening to that enthralling music that made his guts churn and his heart ache. Without him even realising so, the tune changed to a one much more melodic one, slower, more fluent, with a distinct pang of sadness and melancholy.

Natalie was making poetry without even the need of lyrics. She was singing without a voice, telling a story without moving her lips, painting a picture with chords and strings.

Then, all of the sudden it changed again, it was a lighter, faster pace, it made him want to laugh and sing and dance and reminded him of all the things that were beautiful in the world. As the music was dying, she sighed with a smile.

"Ye know Lapin, it doesn't matter how the music starts; it should always finish with hope." She caressed the violin affectionately. "It's a weird thing, ain't it? Tis the only thing I could ever do. I sucked at Math and Physics, I was lousy at History and I can't play a sport without fallin' flat on my face at least a thousand times. But with music..." She shrugged. "I guess it's in my veins. Both my parents were musicians after all."

* * *

 

"Well, don't you look awful?"

Natalie looked up from her hiding spot- sitting on the farthest corner of the campus, on a cold bench below a big tree covered in snow- and found Joel staring at her.

"Thanks. Ye really know how to treat a woman."

He just chuckled, unfazed by her sarcasm.

"You know I'm right, Natalie."

"Aye. I didnee sleep last night. I've got the worst sleepin' habits, mind you."

"Yeah... I can see that. By your face. You look like a zombie."

"Ain't ye sweet, Joey?"

He just laughed again, and sat next to her.

"Here, I brought you coffee. I thought you might be cold sitting outside with the snow and stuff."

He handed her the offering.

"Oh, I swear ye're the most amazin' and wonderful friend!" She sipped some of the hot beverage with a huge smile on her face.

"I know, I know, I'm pretty awesome." He gloated. "By the way, I actually came here to inform you- since you know, you got kicked out of class...  _again_ ; that we're supposed to do an assignment in pairs. We're stuck together, it's due in two weeks, I've written all the details, I can lend you the notes if you want."

"Nay, I'm a mess, It'll be best if ye kept it." She sighed. "I could really use a Brownie in my apartment, ye know..."

Joel's eyebrows furrowed in a knot.

"What has to do the fact that you're hungry with the fact that you're messy...?"

Natalie laughed at him, and ran a hand through her hair.

"No, no! A Brownie is... ummm, well, it's a Dobby."

"...What?"

"Yeah, Dobby. Ye know, from Harry Potter? Brownies are little elf-like creatures that clean up yer house and stuff like that."

"Oh." He just said, blinking.

"Aye. How did ye found me anyway?"

"It was pretty easy actually; I just followed the trail of darkness and desolation. And I asked around for the Scottish sour girl."

She barked a good-natured laugh, and sipped some more coffee. Joel seemed to notice something, because he opened his mouth to talk.

"Hey, Natalie? Shouldn't you hate coffee and drink tea all the time?"

She closed her eyes in defeat.

"Ye're thinkin' of England."

"Oh, sorry. Hey, it's true that where you come from most people play rugby and have plenty of sheep...?" He was genuinely interested in the answer.

"Joel. That's Wales." She looked at him like she was about to cry or slap him... or both. " _Please,_  I'm  _begging_  ye, stop confusin' my culture..."

* * *

 

"Natalie! Want to join us?!" Jamie chirped from across the street, managing to avoid another snowball.

Jack turned around and floated up to Jamie, standing beside him to watch at the girl. She was walking with a box filled with papers in one arm, her other hand almost dragging a tall guy with wavy black hair that walked at a slower pace than her.

He didn't seem happy at all.

"Can't right now kiddo!" She screamed without turning around.

"Why not?!"

The young woman sighed, gave the box to the other guy, and motioned him to go ahead. Then she turned around and looked at the kid, possibly to tell him- more like yell at him, since he was on the other side of the road- the many chores she had to do in too little time and how she was just  _too_  busy right now, maybe in another time. Or another life...

And it was then that her gaze locked with Jack's icy blue eyes. It was nothing, really; perhaps a second or two, and then she looked at Jamie once again like it hadn't happened. Jack stood very still, like a deer in the headlights. What the...? No, surely it must have been an accident, right?

Since she didn't say anything, and he  _knew_  his aspect wasn't the most normal.

But what if...?

The girl shouted half an excuse, and hurried to catch up with the other guy.

"Jamie."

"Yeah Jack?"

"I think... I think she saw me..."

"What? Are you sure of that?" The little boy asked; his eyes big and filled with hope.

"No..."

Jamie seemed to think for some seconds.

"I've got an idea!"

* * *

 

It was  _too damn early_.

At least she didn't wake up with some boy band pop song now, but still...

She mumbled and grumbled and cursed a lot. And then she got up not caring that she looked awful- no matter how many times she promised to herself that she would sleep more, she didn't- and she was only dressed with a too long sweatshirt, her underwear, and a pair of fluffy socks with little ducks patterns on them. What? If it was too  _damn_  early for whoever it was knocking at her door, then it was  _too damn early_  to remember decorum too.

She stole a glance outside the window- it was snowing heavily, as much for the younger kids to have a snow day. A shame that the same rules didn't applied to her College, and she had class in an hour and a half.

She opened the door from her apartment, and looked at whoever it was that had disturbing her sleep.

"Jamie...? What the-? How did ye even know which my  _apartment_  is?"

Then she realised that he was not alone, and glanced at the guy standing next to him. He was tall- a head taller than her... okay, so maybe she was a little bit on the short side...- and had a blue hoodie. He was incredibly pale, with silvery blue eyes and white hair. He carried around some sort of shepherd staff- thingy, and was, of course, barefoot.

She stared at him. She stared at him long and hard. Then she arched a hidden eyebrow in question.

"Okay so, I  _know_  I'm definitely nothin' like a fashion icon or anythin' and that I barely came here a year ago and I'm still not familiar with every mannerism and tendency; but  _man, seriously_." She gestured at Jack. "The hell is wrong with ye?"

Jack was speechless. So, she  _could_  see him.

But she...

She had no idea of who he was.

Was that even possible?

"Natalie!" Jamie interrupted her mini- speech, almost bubbling with excitement. "This is Jack, the friend I told you about!"

"Cool. Now can ye tell me  _why_  ye had to come up to here at this ungodly hour to  _introduce_ him to me?"

Jack couldn't take it, he was just  _too excited_. He laughed like a kid and smiled a huge boyish grin. She  _could see him!_

"Frost." He suddenly announced her.

"...Bless you...?" Natalie said, uncertain.

Jamie giggled.

"No, no. Frost... as in Jack Frost. That's my name." He smiled at her, showing a wide set of impossibly white teeth.

"Jack. Frost. As in the spirit of winter...?" She asked slowly.

"Yes,  _yes!_  Exactly!" He beamed even a larger grin, if that was even possible.

Natalie just looked at him weirdly, and directed her gaze towards the younger boy.

"Jamie. Why did ye bring...  _Jack Frost_  ... to my doorstep?" She asked, not really believing that it was the truth.

So, somehow she believed that he existed, but she didn't believe that Jack was, well,  _himself_. Well, that could be fixed quite easily, of course. The Guardian didn't wait for his little friend to answer the girl, instead he waved his staff in the air, and a mini snowstorm erupted around Natalie, making her shiver slightly. She looked at the flying snowflakes. Then at Jack. Then at the snowflakes again. Then at Jack again.

"Ye're  _the_  Jack Frost, ain't ye?" She said slowly, not looking actually impressed, for some unknown reason.

"Yes! He is!" Jamie shouted in victory "That's what we've been trying to tell you!"

Jack laughed once again.

She nodded slowly, accepting the marvellous revelation. It was weird, he though she was going to be scared, shocked, or anything else... you know, it's not every day that a winter spirit appears on your door; but she seemed to be accepting the fact without much trouble.

Oh, it was going to be amazing,  _finally_  he had found someone closer to his age who he could talk to and fool around without having to respect her bedtime, it was going to be so awesome, maybe they would even be great friends and-!

Without a warning, Natalie closed the door on their faces.

Jamie and Jack shared a weird look. Then Jamie knocked on the door again.

"I do  _not_  want to buy anythin', I've already accepted Jesus Christ as my saviour, I'm not goin' to sign yer petition because yer idea is stupid, and there's nobody home!"

Damned be everything that she could consider damnable. She crawled to her bed again, fuck school, she'll skip classes today, she was probably to be dismissed before the end of the first hour anyway.

It was  _too damn early_  to meet winter spirits.

Just  _too damn early_.

And she had promised to herself some years ago not to meddle between sprites and myths,  _never again_.


	3. Talks and Trippings

**Chapter III**

**Talks and Trippings**

 

She had tried to convince herself it had been just a dream.

Of course, she knew that hadn't been the case. Duh. She was not stupid, nor so full of herself to believe on the delusion that it had been just some sick joke. Nope.

Natalie knew better.

And that's why she was suffocating her screams of annoyance with her pillow, while trying in vain to improve her mood with some silly happy pop song- the ones she liked to listen to when she was drying her hair out of the shower. But that was a secret she hoped no-one ever found out.

" _Stupid_  Jack Frost, who does he think he is to appear at my doorstep?" She muttered into her pillow.

Needless to say, she had no desire whatsoever of getting in between spirits and sprites. Never again. Ever.

Those sneaky bastards could be tricky and messy; and even if it had been fun when she was younger, now wasn't a great time. At all. Right now she was  _very_  busy being broke and miserable, having for company a fluffy bunny, an antisocial genius, a kind fool who couldn't get the stereotypes of her country right even if his life depended on it, the occasional happy presence of two  _children_ , and possibly the only human being in the world who had less money than her. And even he seemed happier from time to time.

That was the full extent of her social repertoire- without counting some greeting to her neighbours, and the constant arguing with her teachers. The rest of her classmates were happy enough to maintain a polite- _safe_ \- distance from the girl, a fact which Natalie was perfectly happy with, actually. They didn't fuck up with her; she wouldn't fuck up with them.

There, a nice peace treaty.

She moaned once again in annoyance, and stole a glance at the clock. As much as she'd love to, she couldn't skip classes two days in a row; she  _was_  responsible, even if it was at some far-fetched barely conscious level of her miserable being.

Besides, if she didn't get up eventually, she'd start growing mushrooms on her hair.

With a final curse against Jack Frost, she finally crawled out of her bed and stumbled into the bathroom, turning on the hot water and almost forgetting to take her socks off as she entered the shower.

As it's for common knowledge, the shower it's the usual place where genius think their grandest ideas, a safe haven for reflection and reviewing one's own life. So she used her precious time under the hot water to make some resolutions:

Number one:  _avoid_  getting kicked out of college. Possibly  _try_  to attend a full class without getting kicked out too.

Number two: sleep more. She had had barely four hours of sleep on the last three days, and she felt like dying- or at least, getting into a vegetal-like state. Probably a potato, since potatoes seemed really peaceful.

Number three: avoid meeting Jack Frost again, even if that meant avoid Jamie and Sophie, and the calls from their mother to go watch over them.

Good. Natalie believed in doing lists.

* * *

 

Natalie had her eyes closed.

That was interesting, when had she closed them? She didn't remember. Besides, she was wet, and cold. And there was something shifting slightly near her.

With a muffled grunt, she tried to remember what the Hell she had been doing in the last hours...

So she had successfully managed to finish her bath and throw some clothes on herself. She had hated Jack Frost once again for making such a beautiful scenery- really; she was in love with winter- and had driven her car to college. Soon enough she was ' _politely invited to retire_ ' and she had been wandering the snow covered campus, her head pulsing and  _really_  sleepy. She remembered feeling oddly light-headed, and getting a little bit dizzy, and then...

Then?

She heard the shifting around her again, and opened her eyes to gaze at her side. She almost instantly recognised Joel's sandy hair; he was lying on the ground- so was she- with his eyes closed and hands lazily intertwined behind his head.

"Joey? The Hell we doin' here?" The girl asked.

Joel hummed and looked at her with one eye.

"Oh, well, you looked exhausted this morning, so I guess that when you got outside with the cold and everything you fainted. So I just, you know, laid over here next to you so that people would think we were chilling and stuff." He was completely serious.

Natalie blinked once.

"Joel, I think I want to marry ye."

"Step into the line, love, step into the line."

She chuckled, feeling her head a little bit less dizzy already.

"You should really take the day off though" He told her. "You know, relax and stuff like that. Want me to drive you home?"

"Aye, please."

He stood up and helped her off the ground, noticing how she didn't even made an attempt to clean the snow of her clothes. Strange girl indeed.

Natalie called in sick for all her duties as a music teacher, and swiftly climbed up to the passenger's seat. Joel turned on the radio, absentmindedly pressing random buttons to get to  _any_  station that had  _something_  playing, instead of those horrible and not funny at all programmes with the corny hosts that thought too much of themselves. Natalie closed her eyes and sighed- she didn't feel sick actually. Just  _tired_ , really, really tired. She pressed her temple to the cold window, and looked outside, at the white and grey from the city...

_-And when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell! You don't know-oh-oh!_

Damned be Harry Styles, Jack Frost, and the radio host.

Natalie looked at the now familiar neighbourhood. She lazily looked at the kids playing in the snow; she even thought she saw Jamie- and she smiled at him when he waved at her- and next to him-

_Jack Frost._

Natalie ducked instantly and made as if she was tying the shoelaces from her converse shoes at Joel's curious stare. Right. Because shoelaces could get all untied when riding a car.

Of course.

She finally got out from the car, rushed a quick 'thank you' to her friend, and raced stairs up to her apartment- last thing she wanted was to be interjected by some white-haired not-quite-mortal guy. However, she tripped on the last step, taking a small consolation with the fact that there was nobody around to testify her quite dramatic fall.

Damned be Harry Styles, Jack Frost, the radio host, the last step of the stairs, and the elevator that didn't seem able to stop breaking down every couple of days.

She looked for her keys and entered her apartment, plopping unceremoniously on the bed and closing her eyes, not even bothering to take her shoes off; she was just _too damn tired_  for anything.

Damn it all.

* * *

 

Natalie slept basically all day. She woke up at five in the afternoon, feeling energised and as fresh as a lettuce. She smiled and stretched, happy to have made disappeared the dark rings under her eyes. She stretched, and decided that it was time for a walk- Joel said she should relax, except he didn't told her  _how_  she should do so.

Stealing a quick glance at her wallet and ignoring the rumbling of her stomach, she smiled at the knowledge of having a couple of bucks left- enough to buy some food for herself and a friend.

So she went to buy a couple of sandwiches and two bottles of water, and walked all the way to the park with Burgess founder's statue on it. She quickly scanned the place and smiled when she found what she was looking for; so she skipped up to a middle aged man sitting on a bench, who was dressed in mostly rags. She grimaced at the state of his clothes.

"Evenin' Jean." She said sitting next to him. "Brought us some food, hope ye're hungry" She grinned a toothy grin, while handing him a sandwich and a bottle of water.

"You're too kind, mon cher." He answered from behind his greying beard.

"Nay, friends are s'pposed to watch each other's backs, aye?" She replied nonchalantly.

The older man chuckled, and took a bite of his sandwich, eagerly trying to ease the hunger that attacked him.

"It would be terribly kind of you if you could ask Jack Frost to stop making the streets so damn cold too." He grumbled, fastening his tattered quilt around him to block out some of the chilling air.

Natalie furrowed her brow at this. Even if she  _loved_  winter, Jean still had a point. After all, winter was pretty when you had enough clothes to keep you warm- or at least, a house with a roof on top of your head.

"Aye... terribly impolite from him to do so..." She let her words linger in the air.

Both fell in a companionable silence, the silence of old friends who understood each other at a deeper level.

"You know... In France... In France I was  _great_  musician. People would make impossibly long lines to listen to my accordion. I was teacher with lots of money. I had respect, a name. Here... Here I'm homeless and nameless. Nobody cares for a street musician who begs for coins." He eyed the young woman. "Nobody maybe except for a sour Scottish girl with a weird taste for friends."

She patted the man on the back.

"Ye're ten times better than most of my classmates, Jean. B'sides, takes misery to know misery; I feel ye, trust me."

He smiled.

"Jean? Why did ye never get married?" She asked, choosing a random topic.

The man grimaced.

"I was  _poltron,_ what is the word...? Ah, coward. I was a coward."

"But ye  _fell_ in love?"

"Oui. With a beautiful woman back in France... Only when I came here I learnt she was pregnant. Heard she had a baby girl..." His tone was sad, melancholic...

"Sorry. Should've never asked." Natalie felt an embarrassed blush climb to her cheeks.

The man just ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry; it was a long time ago... I think she'll be near your age now."

"Oh..."

"You know, I hope she turn out to be as you, Natalie... But just a little bit happier. You're too... stressed for being so young!"

"Aye, I've been told so quite a lot of times." She giggled.

"What about you?"

"What 'bout me what?"

"Have  _you_  ever fell in love, mon cher?"

Natalie instantly shook her head.

"Nay. I don't believe in love..."

"Well that's terribly sad; a young pretty girl who doesn't believe in love!"

"Don't worry, I believe in  _loads_  of other stuff to make up for that. B'sides, it's not as if I never went out on a date; I just... have the worst luck pickin' guys..." She looked down. "Nay, love is not for me..."

The man looked at her and his heart ached; she had a really kind heart- when you tore apart all the walls of bitterness and annoyance- and was really brave- she was _alone_ , in a foreign country, basically one step away from ending like him, and still she was  _trying_. She didn't give up; she didn't flee home with her tail between her legs.

Truly a shame she had nobody around to make her truly  _happy_. Not contented, not alright, but  _happy_.

Someone who could make her laugh and just have some  _fun_  and be simply carefree as a young woman like her should be.

Truly a shame...

* * *

 

Jack Frost had certainly been shocked at the girl's reaction.

Then he had been disappointed.

Then perhaps a little bit intrigued.

Then frustrated.

And then, he just felt challenged- and  _boy_ , he absolutely  _loved_  challenges.

So he had made a personal promise to somehow, make an actual conversation with this girl that didn't include her closing her door on his face and demanding him to disappear from her property.

...Except it was a lot harder when the girl had been purposely ignoring him and Jamie. The boy had felt as if by just for some reason it had been his fault, and solemnly vowed to- somehow- make it better. So he told Jack about his thousand-and-one plans to get Natalie to like him, whichever was her reason to show such a great distaste towards the spirit.

Of course that when they saw the girl riding in a pickup truck next to some guy- who was he anyway? Her  _boyfriend_  or something? - And they realised that she actually  _hid_  from Jack, the Guardian instantly knew that  _none_  of Jamie's plans would work.

So it was up to him to think of something so fantastically awesome that simply blew her mind away and make her realise of how wonderfully incredible he actually was!

That being said, he had no idea whatsoever of what to do.

So when nightfall was coming, he flew up to his favourite spot on the woods, to carefully trace his plan. However, he had forgotten that the place seemed to be her favourite spot too... Honestly he was quite surprised to find her all by herself- ignoring the bunny- on the lake, at night. Didn't she know that could be dangerous?

Silly girl...

He still perched on a tall branch and decided on just watch her for the time being, partly because of his curiosity towards the girl, partly because he was actually afraid that if he showed himself in front of her she'd rip the smile right off his face and bark him to get  _away_  simply because she wasn'tin the  _mood_  for some lame winter spirit.

So he just watched her, he watched her as she sighed and tangled a hand into her hair with her eyes closed, he watched her as she swore under her breath and placed the violin case on the floor, he watched her as she played her music, that music that made him come undone and turned him into a tangle of  _feelings_.

Could someone voice her emotion so loud without even the need of a voice?

He watched her as she laid face-flat into the snow and talked to the bunny that liked to keep her company-  _Lapin_ \- about her day and her friends.

"-I guess I could just... return home, maybe. But that'd be cowardice. B'sides, I'd miss Joel and Matthew, and Jean, and even Jamie and Sophie. I'd say I'd miss ye too, but if I went away, I'd take ye with me. Ye're just too cute to be left alone."

Then she felt silent, and Jack took that as sign to make his move.

He descended from his branch as quietly as he was able to, and furtively approached the immobile girl on the ground. He stood up next to her, just looking, and when she still made no move- apparently not caring at all that the snow was  _cold_ \- he just  _had_  to laugh.

Natalie moaned something that sounded terribly familiar to a  _'Oh, God,_ no" and stood up, slowly, to face him. Both spent the best part of three minutes just  _looking_ at each other, Jack carefully studying the girl in front of him.

She had her short black hair matted to her face, her thick fringe dripping wet with snow chunks here and there. She was on the short side, slim- though not athletic; no, perhaps with that fashionable haircut and her somewhat long legs she could have passed as a model. Except for, you know, the fact that that she stood with her shoulders slumped, head slightly angled to the ground, and that  _magnificent_  glare in her black eyes. Her eyes he studied then; they were the colour of coal, the colour of night, with no real shine on them.

He was about to do something,  _anything_ , when she suddenly started backing up slowly, her eyes never leaving his face, as if he was some sort of predator and she was the helpless pray trying to escape. Jack cocked his head to the side, confused... then she turned around and started to run away.

The Guardian snapped out of his stupor and realised what was going on, and in a panic rush, he shouted a rushed " _Wait!"_ , and stomped his staff on the ground, making ice spring out of the land and trapping Natalie's feet in some sort of icy prison. Of course, she hadn't expected that, alas, she fell on the ground.

Jack flinched, okay, so he might have overreacted a bit... he just hoped she wasn't hurt right now. Carefully he approached her, gulping. She somehow managed to stand up once again- her feet still trapped- and looked at him with fervent rage.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"What the Hell?! Let me  _go_!" She screamed at him, her accent thicker with her fuming rage.

"No! I mean, why did you run away?! Both times!" His tone slightly frantic.

"Why d'ye care,  _spirit_?!"

"Because I want to talk to you!"

"Why?!"

"Because you're the only human being near my age that  _can see me_!"

"Oh, boo-hoo; go cry to yer room!"

Something inside Jack snapped, and he raised his voice until he was screaming at her a top of her lungs, the same tone she was using to scream at him. But hey, she was being so  _difficult!_

"You're the most exasperating woman I've ever met!"

"Then let me  _go_!"

"NO!"

"WHY?!"

"I TOLD YOU I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"

"INFURIATIN' WINTER SPIRIT!"

"MADDENING CRAZY GIRL!"

Okay, let's make a note here that Jack had no way whatsoever to predict what she did next- and maybe even Natalie couldn't have predicted her own impulse. She lunged herself forward with all her weight, the momentum somehow breaking the ice she was being held captive into.

And she threw herself at Jack Frost.

And both were rolling on the snow, throwing insults at each other and basically blowing off the steam both had built inside. However, Jack was still stronger than Natalie, and he managed to stop their movement, encaging the girl under his own body, his arms holding her wrists to avoid any possible physical attack she might want to try.

Except she wasn't fighting him anymore; nope.

She was  _laughing_. Hard.

And her barks of laughter were  _almost_  as impolite as herself. The Guardian felt his own anger disappear, and be replaced with utter bewilderment.

"Are you insane...?" He asked slowly.

"It's just- It's just...!" She inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself. "I just had a wrestlin' match with Jack Frost. On the snow. Could my life get any weirder?"

She smiled at him, her mood incredibly improved. Well, he guessed she just needed to find a way to let all her anger and annoyance- he still didn't know  _why_  was she so annoyed anyway- escape her body.

Soon enough he started laughing too, and Natalie shut up to hear his laughter. Damn. It was a pretty damn good laughter, she was envious of it.

Then again, he was an immortal winter sprite, so yeah.

Jack fell silent too, and their silence became awkward, he still on top of her. He looked at the girl, completely dishevelled and covered in snow. Well... to be honest, winter certainly looked good on her.

"I just want to talk." He told her. "Pretty please?"

" _Fine_. Just... don't try anythin' funny."

He got off her and offered her a hand- which she refused-; then he looked around to find the staff he had lost on the brawl. He grabbed it once again, feeling the familiar tingling in his fingers at the flow of his powers.

Natalie grabbed her violin case and took Lapin in her arms, smiling at the fact that despite all the noise and commotion the animal was still standing by her instrument, almost a tiny fluffy guardian of sorts. She and Jack walked into the woods, and sat down on a fallen tree.

"So..." He started, now completely unsure as for what to say.

"Why did ye want to talk to me so much anyway?"

He sighed.

"Well, I'm a three hundred and eighteen year old spirit; and before last year,  _nobody_  could see me. That's a long time alone."

"Sucks to be ye"

" _Thanks_. Anyway, then a whole lot of crazy stuff happened, and some kids started to believe in me. They finally could  _see_  me. Do you have any idea of how thrilled I was?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "And I love them, I mean; I am a  _Guardian_  for God's sake, but still..."

"Ye want company from someone who's closer to yer age, I get it. How old are ye, biologically speakin', I mean?"

"Eighteen."

"Same here. So... anyway... what ' _crazy stuff'_  happened last year...?"

"You  _really_  want to know?"

"Does it look as if I have somethin' more important to do right now?"

He chuckled at her.

And he told her. He told her everything- about the other Guardians, about Pitch and his crazy plan to take over the world with fear, about how he regained his memories, about who he had been before being Jack Frost, and why the Man in the Moon chose him to be a Guardian. Surprisingly enough, Natalie was quite a good listener- when she wasn't throwing a snide remark here or there.

"And what about you?" He finally said. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Natalie Nightingale, it has a nice ring, hasn't it? Anyway... I was born in Scotland, daughter of two amazin' musicians who taught me to believe in every impossible and told me every story and legend around. Then there was an accident... I was six years old, and was stayin' at a friend's house. Even at six I knew what the word 'orphan' meant... So then I started an amazin' parade of going from foster home to foster home; either I'd escape, or the people that adopted me got tired of me too soon... So I never made many friends, except for one." She smiled faintly. "But that's a story for another day. Anyway, finally, when I was by the age of thirteen, I was adopted by some old family friend I had never heard of before. He's a rich man back home, Fergus McIntyre, and he took me under his wing, treatin' me like some sort of niece. He's the one that bought me all my instruments and gave me the means to exploit my inherited talent.

Last year I finally decided that I wanted to study music for a living, and the college I attend to is s'pposed to be one of the most renowned ones or somethin'. So yeah... I came here almost a year ago... and that's basically my story so far. Heh, ye can guess how much teen angst I had while growing up..."

" _Had_? Because right, you're not like, angry now or anything..." She found his sarcasm delightful.

"I'm not  _angry_  right now... I'm just  _annoyed_. There are a lot of things that annoy me, that's the thing..."

"Right."

Silence again.

"So... Something tells me that I'm not the first spirit you met..."

"Nay, ye're not. Ye'd be surprised to know how many little sprites and myths are in Scotland. I've met my fair share b'fore, and all ye immortal beings tend to be nosy, tricky... I once met a Kelpie that tried to force me into ridin' it, the sneaky bastard. But I've never met anybody, ye know, important or anythin' like those Guardians ye told me 'bout."

He nodded. She was proving to be an interesting companion so far.

"It's getting late, you should return home." He told her, looking around at the lack of light.

"Aye, I've got class t'morrow." She let go of the rabbit in her lap, and watched as the creature returned to his warren.

"Want me to take you home?" He offered with a smile.

Natalie looked at him, eyes squinting.

"Just the fact that I was able to have a pleasant chat with ye doesn't mean I trust ye. I don't."

Jack winced. Okay, he should have been expecting something like that.

"Fine, fine, don't get so defensive... goodbye, I guess?"

She stood up and grinned at him.

"Aye... see ye..."

And he looked at her walk away slowly... Before she could wander too far, however, he shouted after her.

"How do I make you trust me?!"

She turned around, hand in her pockets.

"The same way the Little Prince tamed his fox!"

...What?

"Ye must be very patient, keep yer distance 'til I get used to ye, and respect the proper rites!"

"What's a 'rite'?!"

"Those also are actions too often neglected!" She quoted by heart.

And then she walked away without any further word.


	4. Fall and Fur

**Chapter III**

**Fall and Fur**

 

Natalie walked alone through the dark streets of Burgess, her head hanging low, her lazy steps the only sound around- except for perhaps, a stray cat or two looking for some food.

She had no rush at all; it was not as if her apartment was going anywhere or anything, and she had had a pleasant day, all in all.

Then she heard a sound that she knew very well, she had heard it many times while growing up.

 _Shit_.

Natalie rubbed her temples and turned around, looking for the owner of the sound; she jumped when she realised that the creature was standing right behind her.

"Nobody told ye it's rude to stand so close to a person? Back off. Ye're in my personal bubble."

The creature receded a few steps, and half-sobbed half-screamed again. Natalie studied it for a couple if seconds; it looked like a woman in her thirties, with long black hair, faded skin, a long, tattered greyish dress, and the most sorrow-filled expression Natalie ever saw. She wailed again, and Natalie scratched her head.

It was a Banshee alright. But what would a Banshee be doing in there?

"Are ye lost or somethin'?" She asked, unsure of why would it follow her.

The Banshee looked at her in the eyes and denied with her head, making a few tears fall from her grey eyes in the process.

"...D'ye need, maybe, a favour?" It wouldn't be the first time a spirit asked something from her; damned be those creatures who seemed to  _know_  who could see them and who couldn't.

Then Natalie noticed there was something in the Banshee's hands, it looked like some cloth, bloodstained and wet, as if the sprite had been trying to wash it off. But of course, Natalie mentally slapped herself; Banshees were known for be seen washing the clothes of the one that was about to die; they were also tied to a certain family.

Moved by some morbid curiosity, Natalie eyed the clothing carefully.

"Who's that from?" She simply asked.

The Banshee raised her hands so that she could see a tartan patterned trench coat, with reds and greens and whites.

"...That's my favourite coat..." The girl said, incredulously. "But what...? Why...? I should've seen ye b'fore... when my parents..." She ran a hand through her hair. "I mean, if I've seen ye b'fore I'd certainly remember that..."

The spirit simply showed her the bloodstained coat again.

"Though ye could very well be Fergus' family Banshee too...That'll be very...unorthodox, but still..."

Another wail.

"Then this means I'm 'bout to...  _no_. I've always thought that b'sides a Banshee, I'll see a-"

Suddenly, a howl, high-pitched, terrible, that made her heart race.

"Ye gotta be kiddin' me..."

Natalie turned around as fast as she could, and well enough, three monstrous hounds were running at her; one white with red ears, one black with red eyes, and the other one dark green, with shaggy fur and a braided tail.

"Three...? Are ye serious?" She absentmindedly patted the white dog's enormous head.

Three Black Dogs. One of them even the green Cû-Sith himself.

"Why there are three of ye?" She eyed the creature behind her. " _And_  a Banshee. I'm not that important... and I'm not dyin'. Ye sure this ain't some misunderstandin'? I might be dead inside, but still...I don't think that's a reason for  _three_  Black Dogs appearin' wanting to guide my soul to the afterlife..."

The Cû-Sith grabbed her sleeve and tugged to get her attention.

"What it is? Calm down..." She looked at the direction the sprite was motioning her to. "A... will-o'-the-wisp?"

She closed her eyes firmly, and opened them once again. Yes, the little floating light was  _still_  there, some distance away from her. Now, everything she had heard about them wasn't exactly good, they were supposed to guide to the doom of lost travellers that followed them in curiosity.

The Cû-Sith tugged once again, trying to make her follow the floating thing.

"I don't think that's the best idea, boy, calm down!"

The Banshee sobbed, and from behind her, gently pushed her into the direction of the Wisp too, trying to get her to move. The other two Black Dogs were running barking and howling towards it already.

Natalie whistled after them, trying to stop them and make them turn back.

"No! Come here! That light is  _bad_!" But she was running towards it too- when had that happened?- with the green dog in front of her, tugging her forward, and the Banshee behind, pushing her gently.

She ran in a heart-racing, mind-shattering chase, her lungs burning- why couldn't she be  _slightly_  more athletic? - With her immortal escorts beside her through the deserted streets of Burgess, passing by buildings and windows that were no more than a blur.

And suddenly there was not only one Will-o'-the-Wisp, but millions and millions of them, in front of her, behind her, surrounding her, laughing with a twinkling laughter... and where once streets where, trees started to spring until she was running through a dark forest she was  _sure_  she had seen before, but it couldn't be  _here_!

She was in Scotland. That forest was the one surrounding her uncle's castle.

The improvised hunt party finally stopped when they arrived to the verge of a cliff- she surely didn't remember that being there- and Natalie gazed down, to an endless black. A fall like that would surely snap her neck in two like it was some twig.

She staggered away from the edge, gulping, and looked from the Banshee to the three Black Dogs, trying to find the answer to her questions. The Wisps were still around them, filling the darkness with their eerie cold light.

"Tis a dream." Natalie assured herself, looking at the Cû-Sith in the eyes. The huge dog cocked his head sheepishly, conceding her the argument. "Tis a dream!" She exclaimed, still confused by what was going on around her. Suddenly the Banshee moved forward, past her, and a black cage materialised in the air; it looked like an oversized version of a canary's cage. The Banshee entered there, and sat on the ground, sobbing and crying and holding Natalie's trench coat in her hands, trying to clean the blood off the garment.

"What's...what's...?" Natalie couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, her vision enthralled by the Banshee, who now wasn't holding her coat, but was holding  _her_.

At least, a very much dead and bloody version of her, her bones broken at odd angles, her black eyes open and lifeless while the Banshee mourned her death and ran her faded fingers through her hair, almost resembling the loving gesture of a mother.

Natalie's hands flew to her mouth in shock, unable to tear her gaze from the horrifying vision of her dead self inside the cage.

"Tis not a dream..." She heard herself saying. "Tis a nightmare..."

And then a sudden gust of wind pushed her, making her trip over the edge of the cliff, the last thing she saw were the three hounds staring at her, almost in pity, while howling their terrifying howls.

She was falling, falling, falling... enveloped in the total darkness, her cheeks wet with tears. A laugh suddenly filled the place- wherever she was- and it was maddening, mocking, haunting; it made her want to escape, to run away as fast as she could- but she couldn't so she wouldn't.

"A nightmare! Nothin' but a nightmare!" She was sure of it, but it wasn't any less scary anyway. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for her inevitable fatal collision with the hard ground... but it never came. When she opened her eyes she  _was already_  sitting on the cold ground, except that she never felt the fall. And there were shadows looming over her, cackling with madness and she was afraid, oh so afraid, she felt like a little girl that wanted to bury her face in mommy's skirt.

But mommy was dead, wasn't she?

She was alone.

A shadow stood taller than the rest, and even if she couldn't see its features, it emanated some sort of  _fear_  from itself, making her tremble ever so slightly. The shadow got closer and closer and she closed her eyes once again.

_Open your eyes and stand up, you fool._

Where had that voice came from?

It was... warm and comforting. Wait.

She  _knew_  that voice.

She did as the voice commanded, and realised she was not alone anymore. In front of her, shining as the sun with swirls of gold and red and orange, there was a lion. A lion that was roaring to the shadows, until they all shrunk and vanished, except for that tall one; the both apparently engaged in a staring contest for five minutes, until the lion roared again and the shadow scattered away, like a beaten puppy.

Natalie felt the rush of heat and warmth through her body, the presence of the lion making all her fear go away. The animal turned around and looked at her gravely.

"Long time no see." She told him.

And then she woke up.

* * *

 

She found herself on the floor, tangled between her sheets. Well, it would appear that she somehow fell from her bed while she was immersed in the bad dream. She pushed her curiosity for the possible meaning of the dream to the back of her head, and got dressed. Then she walked into her minuscule kitchen, and poured herself some cereal into a bowl. She was about to grab the milk; when she heard some scratching by her front door. Scratching that sounded a dog's paws.

"If I just dreamed that I was dreamin' and tis still part of the dream, I'm goin' to kill someone. Possibly the imaginary Black Dog that's outside my door."

The scratching again.

Oh well, it was no use to make the dream wait. She walked up to the door and opened it, hoping to find some oversized green hound- or maybe black, or white- but her mouth fell open instead.

Well...

It was canine.

But it was certainly no dog.

"...What are  _ye_  doin' here!? I though ye were at Scotland!"

The creature looked at her curiously, and whined sheepishly. Natalie looked at it. It was incredibly tall and standing on its hind legs, with the head of a wolf and the body resembling that of a man's, covered in thick, dark brown fur, with a wolfish tail.

It suddenly leaped onto Natalie and started to lick her face.

"Get  _off_  ye mutt on steroids! Off, Fang, off!"

After she managed to get him off her- and clean the saliva on her face- she stared at him, her hands on her hips.

"Fang, ye should be back home. Fishin' and stuff. Did ye follow me?"

He whined and looked at her with puppy eyes that looked incredibly ridiculous judging the creature's size.

"Fine, fine. Just... Listen, I've got class in an hour. Ye stay here until I think what to do with ye... and do  _not_  break anythin'."

Oh well. At least it was Friday.

* * *

 

Of course that when she returned home, it looked like a nuclear bomb had exploded in there. And in between all the chaos and mess of ripped sheets, a broken vase, and a  _lot_  of ruined music sheets, there was a sleeping wolf-like creature.

"FANG!" Natalie cried.

The spirit opened his eyes instantly.

"I just-! I told ye  _not_  to-! ARGH!"

However, the creature was saved from her rage by Natalie's phone ringing. She recognised the number and took the call, massaging her temple with her other hand.

"'ello Mrs. Bennett, somethin' the matter?"

"Ahh... you see, I was planning on going with Sophie and Jamie to visit my parents this weekend, and I already have everything set... but Jamie's sick. Nothing to worry about, but he's with a bit of a cold..."

"Want me to stay with him for the weekend?"

"I know it's a lot to ask but, well, could you?"

"Sure. " And she hung up.

Then she looked at the creature on her floor.

"Ye comin' with me. I don't trust ye to be left alone on my apartment... or anywhere else, for that matter."

* * *

 

Natalie entered the house with the extra set of keys that were below the welcome carpet, and walked into the living room; Fang behind her, sniffing the new place with curiosity.

"Jamie?" She called.

Soon enough she heard the small rushed steps descending the stairs, and a sick-looking Jamie appeared sniffing.

"Natalie! Mom said you were coming and-" He looked at the creature behind her. Then his mouth opened in a perfect 'o'. "Is... that... Is that a werewolf?!"He asked unbelievably.

Natalie chuckled.

"Nay. Werewolves are shapeshifters; Fang here is a Wulver. Unlike werewolves, he was never a man, and he's not aggressive. And he loves fishin'." She gently grazed the creature's muzzle with her fingers. "But he can be  _really_  undisciplined."

Jamie sniffed once again, and kept on looking at the Wulver with bright round eyes.

"Shouldn't ye be upstairs, in bed?" Natalie asked the boy.

"I...guess..." He said. "Come up with me! Jack's going to love Fang!"

"Jack is...here...?" Natalie asked, a little bitterly.

The boy nodded.

"He felt guilty because I got sick for being too much in the snow with him, and he's making me some company"

"Figures."

The three of them- the Wulver included- climbed up the stairs and entered Jamie's room. Natalie looked at the winter spirit, floating on his back with his eyes closed, humming under his breath.

Well, he certainly knew how to relax.

Unlike her.

Damned Jack Frost.

* * *

 

Jamie fell asleep soon enough, and Natalie exited his room, followed by Jack and Fang. The three got into the living room, and while Jack and Natalie sat on the couch, the Wulver decided to lay by the girl's feet, on the floor.

She smiled at that, and Jack chuckled.

"The closer thing to a pet I ever had." She told the winter spirit.

"How did you meet him?"

"Oh, I was around... twelve, maybe. And I had just run away from the home I had at that time, and I stumbled into a lake. In the middle of the lake there was a stone, and he was sittin' on the stone with a rod on his hands, fishin'. I don't know why he took a likin' to me, but he started followin' after that, like some sort of oversized mythical dog-like pet. Good luck most people can't see him, or I'd be in trouble..." She looked at Jack. "What are ye doin' here anyway? Ye don't have to stick around now that I'm here to keep an eye on Jamie."

Jack quirked an eyebrow.

"You want me to leave?"

"Actually I want to watch some television re-runs and chill on my own while Fang sleeps at my feet. So aye, I wouldn't mind I ye left."

"Perfect, then I'll stay."

She shot him a dirty look.

"...Soddin' stubborn spirit."

Jack just laughed and laced his hands behind his head.

"You'll learn to love me, you'll see. I'm amazing."

"An' with an ego of the size of Australia..."

He just laughed again.

Natalie remembered something, and looked at Jack, this time she had a serious face.

"Hey... remember what ye told me 'bout that Pitch guy...?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget him, why?"

"I just... had a weird dream last night. A nightmare."

Jack opened his mouth. Then he closed it again.

"No. We defeated him.  _No_. I'm sure it was just a coincidence, Natalie, there's no way he can be... just no."

She nodded.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure of that."

She turned on the television and started flipping through the channels, finally stopping on one of her favourite's movies: The Lord of the Rings- the Two Towers.

She smiled at herself and burrowed on the couch, her legs against her chest, her eyes looking intently at the screen, and barely managing to stop herself from sighing each time Aragorn did something cool.

"I don't get it, and you say all that fuss is because of a ring?" Jack interrupted her thoughts.

"Not  _a_  ring,  _the_  ring. With it Sauron would bring darkness forever upon the Middle Earth."

"And that's a bad thing, right?"

" _Aye_ , Jack, that's pretty  _bad_."

"Who's that giant tree anyway?"

"Treebeard. He's old and awesome, that's all ye need to know."

"And why do the elf and the dwarf compete between each other so much?"

"That's 'cause dwarves and elves have this ancient quarrel between them, 'cause Legolas'- the elf- father, Thranduil, was too busy bein' a dwarf racist and refused to help them while a dragon destroyed their home."

"But that's not in this movie?"

"Nay."

"Okay, but why-?"

"Jack. Shut up and watch the movie unless ye want me to bludgeon ye."

"Last time you tried,  _I_  won..."

"Just shut up."

" _Fine_..."

* * *

 

The movie was long.

Really long.

So long that Natalie fell asleep, her head on Jack's shoulder. He wanted to move, he  _could_  have moved, but...

First, waking her would have been rude.

Second, he was slightly afraid of the weird sour girl. And she had a huge wolf-like mythical monster on her side.

So he just stayed still,  _very_  still, and sighed.

It was going to be a long night.

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy yeah this is a fanfic I have at FFNet too (my username is the same one), but I thought well, let's expand my horizons a bit, why not? So yeah, whatever. If by chance you already know me there, hello again! If you're a new reader, hello for the first time!


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